^%q PLANS ani 



SPECIFICATIONS 
for SCHOOLHOUSES 



Issued by tne State 
Scnool Commissioner 
Dy «ir«etian or tne 
Eaucational Campaign 
Committee of Georgia 



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ATI,ANTA, GA. 

The Franklin-Turner Company 

Printers, Publishers, Binders 

1907 



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PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS 

FOR SCHOOL 

HOUSES 



ISSUED BY THE STATE SCHOOL COMMISSIONER 

BY DIRECTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL 

CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE OF 

GEORGIA 



EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE. 



David C. Barrow, 

Warre;n A. Candi^er, 
Hoke; Smith, 

W. J. Northi^, 

W. B. Merritt, 

M. L. DUGGAN. 





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FRIENDSBIP AOADEJMY, RURAL SCHOOL, 
Gwinnett County, Ga. 

(This house was built accoraing to floor plan of cut below). 



n.o)R PL^n iMwiMCi Wv)v;KU(ii.!^tNT row N 

ONC OOTVMOOOOn SCW»\. HOUbC. 
OMJOITT «- TV\OnbOH MJCHVTLCT5. 




Plan No. I. 



There is a growing interest throughout the State in the mat- 
ter of school buildings. This is manifested, not only through 
the large numbers of school-houses being built, but also in the 
many inquiries received at the State Department of Education 
for plans in building new houses. The supreme need in many 
communities is that of a comfortable and attractive house in 
which the children n-iay be taught, and people are commencing 
to realize this need. 

Feeling this demand and the need and advantage of neat, 
attractive school-houses, the State School Commissioner laid 
these needs before the Educational Campaign Committee of 
■Georgia, and by their direction this pamphlet has been pre- 
pared and is now presented to the school-workers of Georgia. 

Most of the drawings and plans were prepared by Mr. A. F. 
N. Everett, of the firm of Bruce, & Everett, Atlanta, Ga. If 
more particular details are required they may be had at small 
cost by writing to Mr. Everett. 

A supply of these pamphlets will be sent to each county 
school commissioner, and copies may be had by application 
to them, or by sending to the State Department. 

Comfortable school-houses will conduce greatly to good 
work on the part of teachers and pupils. It is a notable fact 
that in the oratorical contests most of the prizes are borne off 
by students who ha\-e attended school in attractive houses. The 
records also show that the per cent, of attendance is higher in 
communities where the school-houses are well built and well 
kept. 



4. 

Trustees and other school officials should be interested not- 
only in erecting attractive buildings, but in the character of 
work done; the work should conform to and be in keeping 
with the good building. 




» SKETCH FEJ^srcCTIvE <■ 
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MODEU ONE P^OOM RWFe/*i_ SCHOOL. 
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BILL OF MATERIAL FOR ROOM A PLAN NO. i, 

WITHOUT TOWER SMALL ROOF 

VENTILATOR OR PORCH. 

(from north CAROLINA PAMPHUCT OF SCHOOL PLANS.) 

The quantities called for in the following bills of material 
are (unless otherwise mentioned) based on the construction 
shown by the working plans and details, and any variation 
from this construction will change the quantities required. 

For 9-inch foundation walls, vent and smoke flues for rooms A, 
and B — 

10,400 brick. 

10 barrels lime. 

10 yards sand. 

If 13-incli piers are used in place of 9-inch walls for foundation and 
only vent and smoke flues for Room A built, deduct from the above — 

5,200 brick. 

5 barrels lime. 

5 yards sand; 

For plastering side walls and ceilings in class-room and vestibule — 

4,000 lath. 

8 barrels lime. 

4 yards sand. 

5 bushels hair. 

1 wire guard (for fresh air duct), 12 inches by 14 inches. 

1 Japanned iron register (for vent flue), 12 Inches by 12 inches. 

1 sheet iron stove thimble. 

204 lineal feet, 6 inches by 12 inches for sills and girders. 

52 pieces, 2 inches by 12 inches by 14 feet, first floor joists. 

8 pieces, 2 inches by 12 inches by 17 feet, first floor joists. 

170 lineal feet 1% inches by 3 inches, joist bearer on sills and 
girders. 

290 lineal feet, 1 inch by 4 inches, bridging. 

120 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 13 feet, outside studding. 

44 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 10 feet, outside studding. 

22 pieces, 2 inches by 4 inches by 12 feet, gable studding. 

420 lineal feet, 2 inches by G inches, for wall plates. 

28 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 27 feet, ceiling joists. 

8 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 17 feet, ceiling joists. 

36 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 20 feet, rafters. 

12 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 12 feet, rafters. 

26 pieces, 1^4 inches by 8 inches by 14 feet, king posts and struts 
for main roof. 



52 pieces, 1% inches by 6 inclies by 10 feet, king posts and struts 
for main roof. 

3,000 feet, % inch, surfaced sheathing. 

1,200 feet, 1 inch by 4 inch, surface shingling strips. 

400 lineal feet, % inch by 2 inch, grounds. 

8 pieces, I14 inch by 4i/^ inches by 14 feet, corner casings. 

4 pieces, 1^ inch by 4% inches by 11 feet, corner casings. 

80 lineal feet, 1% inch, quarter round. 

2 angle beads, 1% inch by I14 inch by 11 feet. 

2,375 feet, 5^2 inch, resawed weatherboarding. 

4 rolls, 2,000 square feet, water-proof building paper. 

140 lineal feet water table. 

28 pieces^ % inch by 12 inches by 14 feet, for gables. 

400 lineal feet, % inch by 2 inch, O. G. battens for gables. 

190 lineal feet, each member main cornice. 

70 lineal feet, each member, coat-room and vestibule cornice. 

12 pieces, l^/i inch by i% inches by 10 feet, for outside steps. 

4 pieces, % inch by 71/^ inches by 10 feet, for outside steps. 

1 piece, 2 inches by 14 inches by 12 feet, for outside steps. 

15,000 shingles. 

1,200 feet, % inch by 2% inch, flooring. 

6 class-room window (with transoms) frames, sash, glass and trim. 
1 coat-room window frame, sash, glass and trim. 

1 vestibule window frame, sash, glass and trim. 

2 gable slat ventilators. 

1 outside double entrance door frame (with transom), door and 
one side trim. 

1 class-room door frame (with transom), door and two sides trim. 

2 coat-room door frames, doors and 2 sides trim. 

1 teacher's cupboard, door frame, door and one side trim. (See 
floor plans for size of doors and windows.) 

560 feet, % inch by 3 inch, ceiling for coat-room. 

150 lineal feet, % inch, quarter round. 

128 lineal feet wainscoting, cut 2 feet 10 inches long. 

128 lineal feet, 8 inches base. 

128 lineal feet, base moulding. 

128 lineal feet, moulded cap. (See details for style.) 

40 feet flooring. 

16 lineal feet, % inch by 7 inches, rise and scotia for teacher's plat- 
form. 

40 lineal feet chalk trough and cap for blackboard. 

1 cylinder mortise knob lock, three keys, top and bottom bolt. 

3 pair butts for outside doors. 

3 mortise knob locks, 4% pair butts, for inside doors. 

1 small mortise knob lock. 

1 pair butts for teacher's cupboard. 

7 pairs butts for transoms. ^ " -,-..- - 



1% dozen sash lifts. 

8-12 dozen sash locks, 7-12 dozen transom workers. 

8 dozen wardrobe hooks. 

Sash, weights and cord for eight windows. 

BILL OF MATERIAL FOR ROOM B, PLAN No, 1. 

^ Note. — In this bill no allowance is made for old material saved in 
-making the additions. Deduct amount saved. 

For 9-inch foundation wall — 

5,800 brick. 

6 barrels lime. 

6 yards sand. 
If piers are used deduct — 

4,000 brick. 

1 barrels lime. 

4 yards sand. 

For plastering side walls and ceilings in class-room and vestibule — 

4,000 lath. 

8 barrels lime. 

4 yards sand. 

.5 bushels hair. 

1 wire guard (for fresh air inlet), 12 inches by 14 inches. 

1 Japanned iron register (for vent flue), 12 inches by 12 inches. 

1 sheet iron thimble. 

130 lineal feet, 6 inches by 12 inches, for sills and girders. 

52 pieces, 2 inches by 12 inches by 14 feet, first floor joists. 

8 pieces, 2 inches by 12 inches by 17 feet, first floor joists. 

170 lineal feet, 1% inch by 3 inch, joist bearer. 

290 lineal feet, 1 inch by 4 inch, bridging. 

94 pieces, 2 inches by 6' inches by 13 feet, outside studding. 

36 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 10 feet, outside studding. 

12 pieces, 2 inches by 4 inches by 12 feet, gable studding. 

260 lineal feet, 2 inches by 6 inches, for wall plates. 

28 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 27 feet, ceiling joists. 

8 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 17 feet, ceiling joists. 

48 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 20 feet, rafters. 

12 pieces, 2 inches by 6 inches by 12 feet, rafters. 

26 pieces, li/o inch by 8 inches by 14 feet, king posts and struts for 
■main roof. 

52 pieces, 1% inch by 6 inches by 10 feet, king posts and struts for 
main roof. 

2,450 feet surfaced sheathing. 

1,500 feet, 1 inch by 4 inch, surfaced shingling strips. 

400 lineal feet, % inch by 2 inch, grounds. 

4 pieces, 1% inch by 414 inches by 14 feet, corner casings. • 

2 pieces, 1^4 inch by 4^2 inches by 11 feet, corner casings. 

70 lineal feet quarter round. 



8 

1 angle bead, 1^4 inch by li^ inch by 11 feet. ' 

1,800 feet, 5^^ inch, resawed weatherboarding. . 

3 rolls, 1,500 square feet, water-proof building paper. 
110 lineal feet water table. 

14 pieces, % inch by 12 inches by 14 feet, for gables. 

200 lineal feet, % inch by 2 inches, O. G. battens, for gables, 

120 lineal feet, each member, main cornice. 

60 lineal feet, each member, coat-room and vestibule cornice. , 

12 pieces, 1^ inch by 4% inches by 10 feet, for outside steps. 

4 pieces, % inch by 7% inches by 10 feet, for outside steps. 
1 piece, 2 inches by 14 inches by 12 feet, for outside steps. 
13,500 shingles, 72 lineal feet, 14 inches, valley tin. 

1,200 feet, % inch by 2% inch, flooring. 

6 class-room window (with transoms) frame§, sash, glass and trim.. 

1 coat-room window, frame, sash, glass and trim. 

1 vestibule window, frame, sash, glass and trim. 

1 gable slat ventilator. 

Weights and cord for eight windows. 

1 outside double entrance door frame (with transom), doors and 
one side trim. 

2 class-room door frames (with transom), door and 2 sides trim. 

2 coat-room door frames, doors and 2 sides trim. 

1 teacher's cupboard, door frame and 1 side trim. 
(See floor plans for size of doors and windows.) 
560 feet, % inch by 3 inch, ceiling for coat-room. 
150 lineal feet, % inch, quarter round. 
128 lineal feet, wainscoting, cut 2 feet 10 Inches long. 
128 lineal feet, 8-inch base. 
328 lineal feet base moulding. 
128 lineal feet moulded cap. 
(See details for styles.) 
40 feet flooring. 

16 lineal feet, % Inch by 7 Inch, riser and scotia for teacher's plat- 
form. 
40 lineal feet chalk trough and cap for blackboard. 
1 cylinder mortise knob lock, three keys, top and bottom bolt. 

3 pairs butts for outside doors. 

4 mortise knob locks. 

6 pairs butts for inside doors. 

7 pairs butts for transoms. 

1 small mortise knob lock, 1 pair butts for teacher's cupboard. 

1% dozen sash lifts. 

8% dozen sash locks, 7 transom workers. 

8 dozen wardrobe hooks. 




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.PBO"POSE.O AODlTIOM TO ON 



E. R.OOl-\ SCHCO'-l'^Ol'-SC 




•PeKSPECTWE SKETCH 



I-IODEL TWO Proor-I bCHOOL HOUhE- 
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« SKETCH PEKSPECriVE = 

MODEL THKet ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE 
DeSl<S^4 M5 1 . 



GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR ONE-STORY 

FRx\ME SCHOOL BUILDINGS THAT APPEAR 

IN THIS PAMPHLET. 

It is the aim of the writer to direct attention to those prac- 
tical details which concern comfort, convenience, structural 
strength, leaving entirely out of the question all discussion 
of such matters as style, etc. Tastes vary and each must and 
will follow his own inclination. Any of the designs found in 
this pamphlet will be in good taste and are economical in 
cost. 

THE SITE. ■ 

If the site is level and well drained, little needs to be done 
in the way of grading except to dig trenches for the foundation. 
If, however, the building is to be on a hillside, whatever grad- 
ing is necessary to secure a level site and the necessary ter- 
races should be done before erecting the structure and at the 
same time the trenches should be excavated. At such time 
the work can be prosecuted at much less expense than after 
the building has been erected; and, after, it will stand as an 
obstruction to the removal of the earth by the easier method 
of carts and earth-scoops. 

It will be found economical in the end to consult a surveyor 
as to levels. If the location is upon a hill, it will be well to 
locate the house the long way, parallel with the face of the 
hill. In other words, the style of the house should be wide 
rather than deep. This will save considerable in foundation 
work. 

DRAINAGE. 

In the case of building on the side of hills, careful attention 
should be given to drainage and the waterways should be 
studied before planning the gutters or soil pipes. Either of 
two (2) systems — surface gutters or sub-soil pipes — should 
be sufficient in capacity to carry off the water of a heavy rain- 
fall. 



10 

Care should be taken to insure a safe flow of the water from 
the house on all sides and it may be well to have a gutter two 
or three feet wide around the walls of the house. 

EXCAVATION.' 

If the building is to be on natural ground, excavation for 
walls and piers should not be less than twelve inches below 
the surface of the ground. If it is soft ground or filled earth, 
the footing courses should go considerably deeper until you 
reach solid earth, if possible. If not, charred boards may be 
used in the bottom of trenches to extend about two feet 
on each side of foundations. 

BRICK WORK. 

All exposed brickwork should be built of all hard burned 
brick laid up in lime mortar. Brick in chimneys from first 
floor joist to topping out of rafters can be of all soft brick. 
Flues for stoves to be eight inches by eight inches smoothly 
plastered on inside. Ventilator flues to be built where neces- 
sary and as hereinafter specified under the head of "Ventila- 
tion." 

All woodwork must be kept away from chimneys at least 
two inches by framing trimmers and headers. 

Sand should be clean and sharp and not too fine. The lime 
should be free from air slack and used in the proportion of 
one of lime to three of sand. 

No piers to be placed more than eight feet apart and 
should be twelve inches by twenty-four inches in size. Foot- 
ings to be formed by setting in three courses of two inches 
each. 

If curtain wall is used to enclose verandas or front of house, 
this may be built four inches thick and should be carried up 
at the same time of piers adjoining same. 

CARPENTRY. 

All framing to be well braced and held together by steel 
wire spikes and nails. Put up perfectly true and plumb. 
House to be balloon frame. Size of timbers as follows : 




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'A BOY AT HIS DESK IN AN OLU- 

FASHIONED COUNIRY SCHOOL. 

From Kern's Amovg Country Sch ok. 



HEATING AND VENTILATION. 




An iron jacket to be placed around stove. 



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Defective System. 
(From Circular of Information, No. 3, 1891, United States Bureau of 

Education.) 




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Z FRONT. ELCVATI ON : 




: FlOO". - PLAN •■ 
.•nOOCL IHRECROan RURAL SCHOOL M0U5E 

- oe-5ic.N NO. i. 



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11 

Sills to be six inches by ten inches. 

Floor joists to be two inches by ten inches, placed sixteen 
inches on centers. 

Ceiling joists to be two inches by .six inches, placed sixteen 
inches on centers. 

Studs to be two inches by four inches, placed sixteen inches 
on centers. 

Main rafters to be two inches by six inches, common rafters 
and jacks to be two inches by four inches. Rafters to be 
twenty-four inches on centers. 

Comer and angle posts to be four inches by four inches with 
two inches by four inches spiked on to form angle. 

If the house is to be sheathed, use for same, square-edged 
sheathing boards, laid on diagonally and securely nailed into 
each and every bearing with one nail in each edge of board. 

Weatherboarding to be A-i in quality, put on in uniform 
widths, showing four and one-half inches to the weather. 

Shingles for roof and verandas must be all heart, A-i 
Georgia pine, as this is a very important part of the building. 
Shingles nailed on roof strips, strips to be one inch by three 
inches. Shingles to be exposed on roof five and one-half 
inches to the weather. All hips to be mitered and eaves to be 
protected by galvanized iron ridging. z 

All flooring exposed outside, on porches and vestibules, to- 
be in one length, A-i, laid in white lead, joints well drawn- 
together, secret nailed. Interior floors to be A grade, two^ 
and one-half inches face, seven-eighths of an inch thick. Secret 
nailed and well drawn together. 

Window frames to be made boxed for pulleys, weights and 
cords; all properly balanced to sash. Outside door frames to 
be all heart. 

CElIvING. 

The ceilings to rooms should be ceiled with beaded ceiling,, 
tongued and grooved, well drawn together. 

Wainscot all rooms with narrow beaded ceiling to height 



12 

of chalk rail. Chalk rail to form a cap for same. Put neat 
quarter round at floor. 

BLACKBOAEDS. 

Blackboards should extend entirely around schoolroom. 
Have the top about six and one-half feet from floor. For 
use of young children, the boards should reach to within two 
feet of floor. The height of boards to be determined by the 
age and size of children that occupy the different rooms. Slate 
boards are noisy and expensive. Wooden boards are also 
noisy and unsatisfactory. Paper or artificial slate boards are 
the most satisfactory. There are several manufactures of this 
kind of blackboard and it would be well for the School Com- 
mittee to get samples from each, before selecting. 

HOW TO MAKE PAPER BLACKBOARDS. , 

When a new building is to be erected, let the walls be plas- 
tered in the usual manner, except that the final coat, instead 
of being composed only of lime-putty and plaster of Paris, 
should contain also sufficient good sharp sand to make a very 
hard surface, and it must be troweled till perfectly smooth. 

When the plaster is fully dry, it is ready for the paper. 
Select manilla paper of medium thickness, not thick, having a 
good, smooth, calendered surface. Spread the paper cut to 
the appropriate size on a clean floor, and wet it with cold 
water, using a clean whitewash brush ; apply good cooked flour 
paste (cold) ; lay the paper on the wall and smooth it down 
with a brush, as in ordinary paper hanging. A soft cloth can 
be used instead of a brush. Nail a neat moulding around 
the edge. 

When dry, apply any good slating, and the next day " rub 
the slating with fine sand-paper. Apply two or three coats 
in the same manner, rubbing each coat as the first. If the slat- 
ing is of good quality, the boards, though coostantly used, 
will not need to be reslated within two or three years. It 
is probably economy to apply three or four coatings of slating 
at first, as it will prove far more durable. Old cement boards 



13 

or slated walls, if they are reasonably solid, may be cheaply 
converted into good boards by first filling smoothly any cracks 
and holes by a mixture of lime-putty and plaster of paris, and 
then applying paper, as described above. Paper will not adhere 
to thick coats of whitewash. If old walls are loose and shaky, 
they should be replaced by new ones and then papered, as in 
new walls. 

Boards should not be washed, but can be well cleaned with 
a piece of dry flannel. 

If the erasers are made of a material which will hold the 
dust, and they are dusted every day by striking them against a 
board out of doors, there will not be very much annoyance 
from crayon dust. 

DESKS. 

The best schools have adopted single desks and no more 
double desks should be used, as they cause the spread of dis- 
ease and contaminate the pure by close relationship with im- 
moral seat mates. The amount of study is lessened and the 
need of discipline is increased by children sitting together. 

Great care should be exercised to adapt the height of desks 
to the size of children who occupy them. 

The best furniture will in the end be the cheapest. 

Cloak rooms should have wainscoting to height of three 
feet. To have coat and hat hooks sufficient number to accom- 
modate pupils. 

Teachers' closets should be supplied with shelves and hooks. 

VENTILATION. 

In building an ordinary single room district schoolhouse a 
brick flue should stand at least two or three feet in the clear. 
This flue should contain in it an eight-inch heavy irom pipe 
placed in the center and extending fully two feet above the top 
of the brick flue. Directly under the floor should be connected 
by means of the pipe, two or more registers placed in opposite 
parts of the room directly in the floor, being careful not to 
place them under the stoves. These registers should be at 



14 

least sixteen inches by twenty inches and after the fire is 
built, should always be opened. Wheti 'th^ fire has burned 
sufficiently long, there will be an upward current of air in the 
brick flue which will exhaust the vitiated air of the school- 
room. To provide fresh air if ail ordinary stove is used an 
opening can ibe made directly in the center of the stove twelve 
inches by SLxteen inches with a pipe fitted to this connected 
with the outside. This pipe, or wooden box if preferred, should 
contain a damper which may be closed at night and by means 
of which the supply of fresh air may be regulated, depending^ 
bri the wind and temperature. The pipe in the stove should 
extend to within four inches of the bottom of the stove and 
should be fitted with a flange running over and under the 
top of the stove and projecting two inches beyond on both 
sides with a pipe two inches by three inches so as to give an 
upward direction to the air as it becomes heated by the bottom' 
and sides of the stove. 

LIGHTING. 

Special attention should be given to the size and location 
of windows, quality, and mounting of glass should be in a 
manner that will not interfere with the transmission of light 
by casting shadows. All windows should be high and all win- 
dows covered by shades for controlling the light so that the 
supply of light may come from above and not from below. 
The light should not be sparingly admitted and it should not 
be too strong to be trying on the eyes. The light supply 
should be located so as not to come from opposite directions 
and desks should be arranged so that the light will come from 
above and from the left side. Clear glass free from flaws and 
irregularities is best calculated to transmit light. Tinted or 
colored glass should not be used in the schoolroom. High 
windows in the rear of schoolroom to admit of ventilation, 
also casting high light that is so necessary^ 

PAINTING. 

- Exterior painting should be done in colors best suited ta 







. SKC-rCM PeK.&F-EC-riv/E. - 

MODCU FOOir r^OOr-l SCMOOL l3LO<S 



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MODEL FOURROQM 'SCHOOU H0U3E 




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15 

the eyes, neutral tints being preferred. Lead and oil should 
be used in the outside painting, three coats. Walls and ceilings 
of school-rooms should be tinted in colors, preventing any 
glaring effect and under all circumstances the effect of light 
upon the eyes should be soft and free from glare and of suffi- 
cient strength to see with clearness and study with comfort. 
Interior woodwork can either be painted soft grays or can be 
stained natural wood finish. The latter method is more durable 
and more cleanly. All tinwork on roofs and decks to be 
painted one coat on under side before applying and two coats 
on upper side after being laid, of mineral paint. Roof shin- 
gles can be either painted or dipped in creosote stain. This 
adds to the appearance of the building and protects the shingles 
from the weather. A good creosote stain should be used and 
shingles dipped two-thirds of their length before being put on. 
A more economical way, however, is to brush coat the stain 
after the shingles are on. This does not permit of the stain 
getting down in the cracks. 

PLUMBING. 

Where there are no waterworks, outside closets should be 
used and the same should be placed a good distance from the 
main building. The buildings to be sufficiently large to accom- 
modate the pupils and to be protected by lattice screens from 
the outside. 

WATER SUPPLY. 

It is vei-y essential that the water supply for drinking pur- 
j)oses should be of the very best. Wells should be located so 
that the surface water will not run into same. The ,greatest 
care should be taken in the selection of drinking water. If 
stoves are used in rooms there should be always a vessel of 
fresh water kept on same to keep the air moist. It is a good 
idea to have several buckets of water kept in convenient places 
as a protection in the case of fire. 

A. F. N. Everett, 

Architect. 



16 



SUGGESTIONS ON THE SCHOOL BUILDING. 

The plan and model of a house should conform to the use 
to be made of it. It is not economy to build a schoolhouse 
after a pattern better suited for some other purpose. The 
comfort and health of the children for every school day in 
the year should he kept constantly in mind; instead of the 
accommodation of the community at the annual concert or 
similar occasion. 

Strength and comfort are first considerations. Convenience 
and beauty are to be thoroughly considered. 

The foundation should be of brick or stone, and the floor 
high enough from the ground to admit of free circulation of 
air, and to prevent the decay of timbers on account of moist- 
ure absorbed from the ground. 

The floor should be doubled, and airtight. After it is thor- 
oughly dry, it should receive two coats of linseed oil. This 
will preserve the wood and prevent the accumulation of un- 
healthy germs. 

Many a case of lung trouble, pneumonia, grippe, etc., has 
been caused by a crack in the schoolroom floor. The brain 
can not do its best work if the feet are cold. 

After an inspection of hundreds of rural school buildings. 
I am convinced that more defects are to be found in the ar- 
rangements for lighting and ventilating than in any other re- 
spect. The average school patron does not realize the impor- 
tance of these points, and too often the teacher is negligent 
concerning them. 

When pupils are sluggish,, inattentive, or irritable, there is 
cause to believe that the air is not so pure or the light not so 
good, as should be. 

The admission of fresh air into the room without causing 
a draft is often a problem hard to solve. If the matter is given 
the proper attention during the construction of the building 
it will save much worry and trouble. 

The two floor joists (sleepers) that pass under the place 



17 

where the stove is to be set should be carefully ceiled on the 
under side; a hole cut in the weatherboarding above the sill at 
the end of this flue as long as the joists are apart and as wide 
as the joists. This hole should be covered with wire gauze. 
A hole should be cut in the floor just under the stove about 
eight inches square. This should also be covered with wire 
gauze. This air box,' if constructed as suggested above, will 
be eight or ten inches deep and one and a half or two feet 
wide. It should be perfectly airtight under the house so that 
dust or foul air from under the house would not be drawn 
into it. 

If no air leaves the room none can enter; therefore it is neces- 
sary to provide a vent for the escape of the impure air. Hot 
air rises and if this opening is made in the overhead ceiling, 
the cold air in parts of the room not near the stove will remain 
unchanged and not heated. The carbonic acid gas which is 
given off by the pupils in breathing is heavier than air and 
if the escape vent is not near the floor this foul gas will not 
be removed, although pure air may be passing through the 
room. 

At the gable end of the room, sheet two studs with tin, or 
tar paper. The plate should be cut out between these two studs 
and the box continued to within two feet of the comb. Here 
an opening should be made in the weatherboarding as large 
as the space enclosed between the studs. The tin or paper on 
the inside should be pulled across and attached to the weather- 
boarding just above this hole. 

At the floor the baseboard should be cut out between these 
two studs. The holes at each end of this flue should be pro- 
tected with wire gauze to keep out birds and rats. If this flue 
is not made airtight on the sides, the cold air rushing through 
the cracks of the weatherboarding will prevent its taking the 
air from the room. 

Around the stove should be a sheet iron jacket, a foot higher 
than the stove, and six to twelve inches from its sides all 
-around. As the air inside this jacket is heated and rises, the 



18 

air from the flue underneath rushes up to take its place and be 
heated. The air in the room is pressed down, and being: 
wanner than the air outside, causes a draft through the open- 
ing in the baseboard at the end of the room. 

It is no extra cost to have the windows so arranged that 
the rooms of the building may be properly lighted and venti- 
lated; but only a small per cent, are so arranged. 

The windows may be as far as three feet above the floor, 
but they should reach within a foot of the ceiling. The upper 
sash should be hung with weights or on hinges. In most 
schoolrooms the space above the tops of the windows is one- 
fourth or more of the space in the room. Only when the air 
in this space is cooler than that on the outside will it descend, 
and pass out the openings. 

The windows should be sufficient in number and size ta- 
equal in area one-fourth to one-fifth of the floor space. Even 
more than this per cent, should be provided if the room is- 
more than half as high as it is wide. Eleven feet is high 
enough for a room twenty-five feet wide. 

Under no circumstances should windows be at that end of 
the room toward which the pupils face when seated. If only 
one side is lighted, so arrange the seats that the light comes 
to the left side of the pupil. 

If possible the room should be so located that the pupils 
seated shall face north. All maps should be hung on the 
north wall. This is especially important in the arrangement- 
of rooms for primary grades. 

The advantages in favor of patent desks outweigh the dif- 
ference in cost between them and seats made at home. The 
size of the pupil to be seated should be in mind when seats- 
are purchased or made. 

It is barbarous and often results in lasting injury to require- 
the child to occupy a seat so high that its feet can not reach 
the floor. 

If patent desks are bought they should be properly put to- 
gether. Many school-desks in the State would have lasted: 
twice as long if they had been properly put together. 



19 

Sometimes it is not desirable to fasten the desks to the floor. 
The following plan has been found effective in keeping the 
desks in position and permitting easy remo\^al for sweeping or 
change of arrangement in the room. Use slats one and a half 
inches by three, long enough for three desks. Fasten the 
desks to these with screw^s. This section is too heavy to be 
easily pushed out of position, and yet light enough to be moved 
to any part of the room by two pupils. 

Each coat room should be provided with a shelf with hooks 
on the outer edge for hanging coats. When hung against the 
wall, damp wraps retain the moisture and are more apt to- 
injuriously affect the child when again used. 

The schoolhouse and its surroundings should be attractive 
to the eye. The refining and cultural influence of a beautiful 
building and grounds can not be overestimated. The proper 
respect for property rights, law, order and systematic labor is 
much harder to teach the child if the house and its surround- 
ings are not attractive. 

The architectural design of the building has its effect on the 
character of each child that attends the school. If patrons 
comprehended the lasing effects of the convenience and comfort 
and beauty of the house on the child, our school buildings 
would all be models of elegance. 

The time has come when county boards may demand such 
conditions of school grounds, buildings, and appurtenances as 
will insure the comfort and health of the pupils. No school 
should be permitted to open until the building is put in good 
condition for heating, lighting and ventilation. The conditions 
of the grounds and the outbuildings should come up to the 
standard requirements. It is gratifying to know that in most 
communities these matters are being properly regulated by the 
local trustees ; but such things are too important to pass without 
notice even though of rare occurrence. 

It is a notable fact that in communities where much com- 
plaint of vandalism was formerly made, that since the property 
has been turned over to the county board and put in first- 
class condition, cause for these complaints has disappeared. 



20 
THE COUNTY SCHOOLHOUSE AND ITS GROUNDS : 

AN AID TO AGRICUIvTURAIv TRAI^TING. 

By the Hon. James Wieson, Secretary of Agriculture. 
[Reprinted from The Youthfs Companion, March 14, 1901.] 

Sometimes the country schoolhouse has extensive and well- 
kept grounds, but oftener it is in a pasture, a cultivated field 
or a wood-lot. In these instances, although the playgrounds 
are usually adequate, the opportunities for object-lessons in 
natural history and in various profitable but incidental lines of 
study may not be recognized. 

Th^ young farmer can not be introduced to Nature too soon, 
;and should never be long separated from her object-lessons. 
Suitable text-books designed to lead him by easy stages are 
still few and not well arranged. 

We live in an age of specialized work, and men of educa- 
tion must usually, if they would become impressive, confine 
their inquiries to one channel. The farmer deals with soils, 
-plants and animals, with heat and cold — in short, with nature 
in her varied forms and manifestations. It would seem wise, 
in the interest of the commonwealth and of himself, that he 
should be made thoroughly acquainted with soils and their 
composition, with the life of plants and animals, and with the 
various species that may be expected to flourish in particular 
localities and climates. 

Yet although the farm keeps the balance of trade in the 
nation's favor, furnishes two-thirds of our exports, contrib- 
utes to our manufacuring supremacy by providing cheap food 
for our mechanics, comparatively little has been done toward 
educating the farmer for his work. To be sure, the United 
States has done more for him than any other country. In 
1862, Congress endowed agricultural colleges to teach the 
sciences relating to agriculture. In 1867, experiment stations 
were provided for, where research might be made into the 
operations of nature. 




THE OLD AT WOLF FORK, RABUN 
COUNTY, GA. SOLD FOR $17. 





THE NEW AT WOLF FORK. VALUE OF BUILDING AND" 
EQUIPMENTS, $600. 




SCHOOL GARDEN. 
Plain's High School, Sumter County. 





■ 





"A COUNTRY SCHOOL LIBRARY." 
From Kern's Among Country Schools. 



21 

But considering that Americans pay more money for public 
education than any other people on earth, a comparatively 
small proportion of the sum is devoted to stimulating and aid- 
ing that half of our population who cultivate the soil. The 
tendency of primary education has been to lead the country 
youth away from the farm instead of helping him in the study 
of those sciences relating to production. It would be politic 
and patriotic to incorporate into the fann youth's education 
some knowledge that shall bear more directly upon his future 
life and work. 

And first, the grounds around the schoolhouse could be 
made to speak out in a language easily intelligible to the youth, 
whose eyes have been familiar with nature from the days 
of the cradle. 

Flowers should abound in the schoolhouse grounds. They 
are among the best of educators, for they develop taste and a 
love for the beautiful, and make men sensitive to the attractive 
and lovely, in town or country, in field or forest. 

Moreover, the flower of the plant has an economic use, 
concerning which the scholar should be informed. Nature 
designed it to invite the wayfaring insect, and we can employ 
it to delight the child in its first journey away from hon^e. 
Little people, in fair weather, should not sit long at a time on 
benches in school. The lawn should be arranged for their 
pleasure, and in any such arrangement flowers can not be 
omitted. Although their language will not be immediately 
understood, the child will, by gradual acquaintance, learn t: 
know and love them. The country boy is usually bashful, and 
has little to say to new acquaintances; the flowers would get 
into his confidence sooner than most strangers. He would not 
miss home and mother and familiar things so much. 

Instructive lessons about annuals, biennials and perennials 
could be taught as the years go by. The names of the plants 
and of their several parts would be memorized much more 
readily from the living subject than from a book. At recesses 
and during the noon hour much of the plant-lore given to the 



22 

more advanced students would be dealt out by them to the 
beginners. Young people do not hide things under a bushel. 
The study of nature's book is never regarded as a task, and 
what she tells us in her own peculiar way finds almost always- 
an open mind and a retentive memory. 

In the very best rural schools are found herbariums, fishes 
preserved in alcohol, samples of rocks, soils, woods and min- 
erals. There are few districts in any of our States that can not 
afford these collections, and there is no good reason why the 
country teacher should not use the out-of-door object-lessons 
that are so abundant, so inviting, and altogether so appropriate 
for the best development of the young farmer. 

Heat and moisture are good servants of the cultivator when 
controlled, but severe masters where, through ignorance, they 
are permitted to have their own way. Their potent influence 
on production is generally overlooked in the- education of the 
farmer. The subject is certainly neglected entirely in most 
of our country schools, important thought it may be to the 
future welfare of the child. 

Advanced research to discover the effects of heat and moist- 
ure on production is receiving some attention at our agricul- 
tural colleges, and valuable results are available to the students 
who reach the colleges; but these are comparatively few in 
number. The State college endowed by Congress offers to 
the farmer a kind of intermediate stage of education, but he- 
is given no practical beginning in the common school, and there 
is no university in which, after graduating from college, he 
might carry on specialization. 

Many of us have distinct recollections of disagreeable school- 
houses and grounds. We ought to arrange matters so that 
different impressions will be made on the little people who now 
venture from home and go to school. We should associate 
as many attractive things around the schoolhouse as can be 
brought together, just as we make the parlor the most beautiful 
room at home in order that our friends may be pleased while 
they visit us. 




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23 

Flowers and plants are most pleasing additions to the house 
as well as to the lawn. Students should be taught the daily- 
care necessary to have healthy and beautiful flowering plants, 
the uses of the spray, and the remedies for infesting or destruc- 
tive insects. 

The children of a schoolroom will watch with interest the 
unfolding of new leaves, the first appearance of a bud, and 
finally the bursting petals of a beautiful blossom. Without 
much extra labor the paths that should be artistically laid out 
on each schoolhouse lawn can be edged with neat, blooming 
border plants. The pupils would always delight in caring 
for and .protecting them. 

Flower-beds on the lawn are pretty if properly made. A few 
hyacinth bulbs planted in the fall make almost as early remind- 
ers of spring as the hepatica or the ambitious crocus that 
laughs at a snow-bank. The hyacinth bulb is interesting from 
the moment it peeps through the ground, and its flowers are 
satisfactory, too, because they last longer than those of most 
other early bloomers. 

The gathering of seeds from all trees, shrubs and plants 
should be encouraged. If all the seeds be saved, pupils whose 
parents have not encouraged flower culture may be induced to 
make little flower-gardens at home, and incidentally to take 
pride in the appearance of the yard. 

Small trees and shrubs look well set out as a hedge, besides 
furnishing a shade on one side of the lawn. Each girl might 
have a flowering shrub planted for her, the variety to be of her 
own selection, and it should then become her special care. 

Several things might be done to make the schoolhouse yard 
interesting to the students. Upon the advent of each new pupil 
a tree, native to the latitude, might be planted. This would 
give a cerain dignity to each new pupil. 

Much sentiment has attached to trees in all lands and in all 
aees. Acorns from the oaks of Mount Vernon were presented 
to the Tsar of Russia by a brother of the late Senator Sumner. 
They were planted, by order of the emperor, in the imperial 



21 

preserves of St. Petersburg, and there grew into fine trees, the 
acorns from which were, in their turn, brought back to the 
United States by Mr. Hitchcock, then ambassador to Russia 
and now Secretary of the Interior. These acorns will be 
planted at Mount Vernon, near their "grandparents.'' 

After a recent visit to England, Senator Hoar of Massachu- 
setts brought back young British oaks from the royal forest 
■of Dean and chestnuts from the estates of the Earl of Ducie. 
. These will be studied by our foresters as they grow in the mall 
at Washington. Within the enclosure of the Botanical Gar- 
dens at Washington many trees, planted by prominent Amer- 
ican statesmen, have grown to be objects of great interest and 
beauty. 

Charles Sumner planted a European hornbean; Thaddeus 
Stevens an Oriental plane-tree ; Senator Beck an American elm ; 
President Hayes a rare variety of oak; Senator Hoar a cedar 
of Lebanon, A Scotch plane-tree planted by Senator Frye is 
pointed out to all visitors. There are many others, but enough 
have been mentioned to show the interest that attaches to a 
tree carrying the name of the person by whom it was planted. 

Young people attending the country school would soon learn 
the names of all the trees indigenous to the neighborhood. If 
the pupils would gather the seeds of the trees at different sea- 
sons when they are ripe, the teacher would have an object- 
lesson to assist her in conducting nature studies. Methods of ' 
preserving these seeds through the winter and the habits of 
growth of the different varieties would be studied with intense 
interest and never forgotten. As the pupils visited new neigh- 
borhoods and new countries, their early forestry lessons would 
be valuable in enabling them to add to their knowledge of syl- 
viculture. 

The great life-work of Senator Morrill of Vermont, assisted 
by other far-seeing American statesmen, was the endowment of 
institutions in each State in the Union, where the sons and 
daughters of American farmers could study the sciences that 
relate to agriculture and domestic economy, A great ques- 



25 

tion, however, is the proper preparation of young country 
people for entering these agricultural colleges. The prepara- 
tion must be given by the country school-teacher, and the query 
presents itself, "How shall the teacher be fitted for this work?"^ 

In most of our States we have normal schools for teachers, 
yet some of our State agricultural colleges have not succeeded 
simply because the instructors had been educated in institutions 
that gave them too little of the sciences relating to agriculture. 

Progress is being made ; the student of soils, plants and 
animals is finding his place in the class-room; but the giving 
of direction and bent toward the agricultural college must 
begin with the farmers' children in the country schoolhouse, 
and to this end we should have object-lessons on the school- 
house grounds. 

The dry ranges of the great West are being rapidly destroyed 
by injudicious grazing. The beautiful valleys of the moun- 
tain States are being rendered barren by the unwise applica- 
tion of water. The great wheatfields from the Missouri river 
to the Pacific ocean are losing their fertility, and the grains 
are losing their nitrogenous content by continual robbery of 
the soil. Summer fallowing and the sowing of one crop in 
two years are becoming universal. 

The young farmer attending the district school could readily 
be taught what a plant gets from the soil and what it gets from 
the air. The several grasses could be planted, and their oflfice 
in filling the soil with humus, enabling the soil to retain moist- 
ure, could be explained. The legumes — peas, beans, clover and 
alfalfa — could be grown in the schoolhouse yard, and during 
recess or at the noon hour the teacher could interest the stu- 
dents by digging up a young pea of clover root and showing 
the nodules, whose office it is to bring the free nitrogen from 
the atmosphere and fix it in the soil. 

The pupils w^ould see that some relation exists between the 
size of the nodule and the fruit of the legume. As a plant 
grows older and blossoms and seeds begin to fonn, the matter 
found in the nodules rises in the plant to help make seeds,. 



LIBRARY OF CO^^^^^^ 



029 502J1 8 



